


Whatever It Takes

by Brittany65



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Child Loss, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Pain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-23
Packaged: 2018-03-02 21:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2826119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brittany65/pseuds/Brittany65
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elliot's son is missing, and it's up to the SVU squad to find him! This story explores the pain behind child loss and the unbreakable bond between two partners.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Break Point

Elliot gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He could feel the anger coursing through him, despite his attempts to calm down. Kathy had called him earlier that day and started belittling him after she found out he would be having a late night at the office again. It was 3 in the morning, and all he wanted to do was sleep. Elliot knew, however, she would be waiting up for him, wanting a fight. What the hell did she expect when she married me? Elliot thought, as he got out of the car and walked to his door. 

He let out a sigh, as he opened the door and saw Kathy sitting at the kitchen bar. Her face was streaked with tears and she was clutching the house phone, holding it to her chest.

“Kathy, I had to stay late,” Elliot protested as he took off his coat and wiped at his dry eyes. “The case we’re working on-” His sentence cut short by Kathy sobbing. He could see she was shaking from across the room, and he ached to see her in so much pain. 

“Kathy,” he muttered as he walked towards her. He couldn't understand why she was being this way. It’s not like this is the first time he stayed out late because of the job. 

“No. Don’t,” She cried out as he reached out for her. She got up from the bar stool and turned his back on him. “It’s Dickie. He never came back from his friends house. He should have been back before bedtime,” she whispered. Elliot could hardly hear her, so he walked in front of her. He grabbed her shoulders and bent down so they were eye level. “What? Did you say Dickie-”

“Yes!” she screamed out. Another set of tears rolled down her face as she pushed him away. “Dickie’s gone! I called his friends mom and she said he left at 10 to walk home! That was 5 hours ago!”

“And why didn't you call me? The cops? Why are you just now telling me this?” He could feel the anger rising again. He leaned against the counter and rubbed his forehead. 

“I...didn't notice until 2 hours ago,” she whispered, more to herself than Elliot. “I’m a bad mom. I shouldn't have let him stay out so late. I should have checked to see if he was home before I went to bed. I should have-” Elliot silently agreed with each statement she made, but he put his arms around her and whispered, “It’s okay. We’ll find him.”

Elliot went into their room and closed the door. He had to let this anger go. It wasn't going to help them find their son. He grabbed a pillow and screamed into it. Elliot didn't want Kathy feeling even more guilty than she already had. He will never forgive her for this, though. He couldn't. He knew how valuable each second was, and she waited 5 hours?

Elliot’s anger was replaced by fear the moment he released the pillow. He could still hear Kathy sobbing from the other room, and it started to sink in. Their boy was missing.


	2. Chapter 2

“Richard Dickie Stabler. Age...16. Went missing 6 hours ago. Last seen leaving a friends house. He is considered at risk until significant information to the contrary is confirmed,” Cragen shouted at the room full of uniforms. His eyes stopped on Elliot, before hastily looking away. He could see the worry and hurt in his eyes, and he couldn’t stand to see one of his best detectives in so much pain. “Canvas the neighborhood, knock on doors...anything you need to do to find him,” he spat out, while pointing to the picture of Dickie on the board. The uniforms left, and Elliot let out a long breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Fin, Munch...go talk to the family who saw him last. See if his friend knows of any place Dickie liked to go that was within walking distance,” Cragen barked. He looked at Olivia as Fin and Munch swiftly left the room. He lowered his voice to a whisper to talk to her. “Check to see if there's any…registered sex offenders in the neighborhood.” 

She nodded her head and went to her desk without looking at Elliot. She felt bad for him, but nothing she could say or do would make him feel better about the situation. She loved Dickie like he was her own son, and she fought back the tears she knew were coming while she started checking the list of known sex offenders.

“And me?” Elliot asked while walking towards his captain.  
“Go home. Get some sleep. Comfort your wife. Be there for your kids. You’re in no state to help.” Cragen didn’t look him in the eye, because he knew what would be lurking behind the younger mans eyes and he couldn’t stand to see it again.  
“You’re kidding, right?” Elliot demanded, his voice rising with every word. “You expect me to just...do nothing while he’s out there?”  
“Fine,” Cragen sighed. He knew Elliot wouldn’t back down. “But if I see that this is too much, I’m taking you off the case.” He walked into his office and sat down. As he looked out his window at his detectives, all he could think of was how much he wanted a drink.

 

Olivia was looking through the sex offender registry and the list of recent parolees who might have a grudge against Elliot, but she couldn’t stop herself from switching her gaze between her computer screen and Elliot. He looked as though he had aged 10 years in the past few minutes, and the look of him made her heart ache. She wish she could give him some kind of comfort, but she couldn’t even give herself any.  
“Good news. It looks like there is no sex offender within 10 miles of your house,” she said, while silently congratulating him for picking such a safe neighborhood.  
“Hmm…” was his only reply, and she wasn’t sure if he heard her at all.  
Elliot was absorbed in his own work, looking through a bunch of files on his desk. As Olivia walked around to his side of the desk, she saw that they contained information on other missing child cases.  
“We’ll get him back, you know,” she stated. She tried to make her voice sound confident, but she quietly cursed herself when she heard the panic in it. She sat on his desk and put a hand on his shoulder.  
He glanced up and she looked into the glistening eyes of her partner. They stared at each other for a moment, telepathically telling each other it was going to be okay, before she got up and sat at her desk again.

The call came in around 6 that morning. The ringing came from the phone in Cragen's office, but everyone heard it. No one was sure if they should run towards it or flee from it, afraid to know what the person on the other end had to say. So they all ended up staring at it, until Cragen finally answered it.  
He let out a shaky breath. “Special Victims.”  
The man on the other end said something that caused Cragen’s eyes to go wide, as he peered through his window at Elliot.  
He hung up but didn’t move, as he stared at Elliot. Finally, he broke the painful gaze and walked slowly to his doorway.  
“Elliot. They...found a boy’s body-” he paused, as Elliot groaned and collapsed on his knees. He reluctantly continued. “They found a body matching Dickie’s description, and they need you to ID it.”


End file.
